Board Members

The board is comprised of carbon market leaders who are actively engaged in guiding VCS development.

Board members include executives from VCS founders - IETA, the Climate Group, and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development - as well as Norton Rose, Ecotrust, C-Quest Capital and others.

Marc Stuart, Chair

Marc is founding managing director of Allotrope Partners and an original co-founder of EcoSecurities, one of the world's largest developers of GHG reduction and removal projects. Marc brings to the board significant business development expertise and an in-depth technical understanding of the complexities of project development and the need for simplified and transparent procedures to enable large-scale investment. Marc also sits on the VCS AFOLU steering committee.

Henry Derwent, Vice Chair

Henry is the former international climate change director for the United Kingdom. He has overseen UK delegations at international climate negotiations and G8 summits, and he has led the early development of UK carbon markets. He more recently served as president and CEO of the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), one of the founding organizations of the VCS. Henry brings to the board valued insight into climate policies emerging worldwide.

Thierry Berthoud

Thierry is managing director for energy and climate at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. He brings to the board important insight into how energy and climate issues are managed by large industrial companies with international exposure. He played an important role in developing new nuclear fuel reprocessing techniques for the French Atomic Energy Commission, and he has held senior positions in the aluminium industry (Pechiney and Alcan), in roles such as R&D, European affairs, business strategy, business development, international relations and government affairs. He spent three years working on GHG stratagies for power plant equipment at Alstom.

John Drexhage

John is the climate change director for the International Council on Mining & Metals and previoulsy served as climate change and energy director for the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). He has been directly involved in international climate negotiations for many years and has advised widely on regulatory systems ranging from domestic and international offset systems to carbon tax options. John brings to the board keen insight into the dynamics of international climate policy development and a dedication to linking environmental protection and economic development.

Dirk Forrister

Dirk is president and CEO of the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA). He previously served as managing director of Natsource, as a senior official with the U.S. Department of Energy and as energy program manager at Environmental Defense Fund. He also served as Chairman of the White House Climate Change Task Force in the Clinton Administration. Dirk, an early contributor to U.S. climate change policy, brings to the VCS Board considerable skills and experience in energy policy and carbon markets.

Jennifer Haverkamp

Jennifer is the director of Environmental Defense Fund’s International Climate Program, where she is closely engaged in international climate policy negotiations. Previously Jennifer served as an assistant U.S. trade representative for environment and natural resources and as an attorney for the U.S. Justice Department and EPA. She headed the U.S. delegation that renegotiated the International Tropical Timber Agreement, and she helped negotiate environment and labor side agreements to the North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA. Jennifer brings to the board her keen insights into international climate policy and trade negotiations.

Anthony Hobley

Anthony is the global head of climate change and carbon finance for the Sydney-based practice of Norton Rose. He has significant transactional expertise with the buying and selling of emission reductions and removals, and he has been involved since 1998 in the drafting, development and implementation of key carbon market and climate legislation. He previously served as legal policy director for Climate Change Capital and general counsel to the Climate Change Capital Carbon Fund. Anthony brings to the board focused legal insight into the complexities of trading emission reductions and removals.

Mark Kenber

Mark is CEO of The Climate Group, one of the VCS founding organizations. He brings to the board 15 years of experience on international climate policy, having served as a senior policy officer for WWF's International Climate Change Programme, as planning director for Fundacion Natura in Ecuador and as an advisor to former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Ecuadorian government. Mark currently sits on the Climate Change Advisory Council at Zurich Insurance and the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change Steering Committee. He brings to the board wide-ranging expertise in environmental economics, emissions trading and global climate policy development.

Ken Newcombe

Ken is CEO of C-Quest Capital and brings considerable carbon market expertise to the board. Ken led the World Bank's work to establish the Prototype Carbon Fund, the first private-public fund to make significant investments in emission-reducing projects. He went on to manage the growth of eight carbon funds and to work for Climate Change Capital and Goldman Sachs. Ken brings to the board a breadth and depth of experience with all aspects of carbon market development, ranging from precise technical questions to broad conceptual issues. He serves on the AFOLU steering committee as well as the VCS board.

Gudmundur Sigurthorsson

Gudmundur is an independent management consultant and founding director of Future Vision 2020. Previoulsy, he served as an executive at Det Norske Veritas (DNV), one of the world’s foremost auditing companies. He was directly engaged in developing DNV’s work in the climate sector, pioneering activities related to accounting for greenhouse gas emission reductions and removals. He brings many years of experience in GHG accounting and also considerable management and leadership skills to the board.

Bettina von Hagen

Bettina is CEO of Ecotrust Forest Management (EFM), an investment management company and subsidiary of the non-profit Ecotrust. EFM specializes in ecological forest management for investors and land owners, producing an array of forest products and services ranging from timber to biomass to forest carbon, while also producing jobs for local communities. Previously Bettina served as vice president of Ecotrust and vice president of First Interstate Bank of Oregon. She brings to the board an in-depth understanding of the forest sector, which is critically important given the sector's growing role as a source of credible carbon credits.

Tao Yun

Tao is founder and CEO of ZBX Environmental Software Company, the leader in providing infrastructure for China's carbon market. A renowned business leader within China, he was one of the youngest board members among all Chinese public companies and first elected global governor of Pacific Telecom Council from mainland China . Tao brings to the board his extensive experience in IT, telecoms, and investments in China and abroad.